Did you know that the phrase, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever,” is a favorite phrase in the Bible? It is used forty-four times. The prayers that have the most impact on our lives are generally prayers of thanksgiving. When we are thanking God, we are focusing on God and remembering His greatness, His goodness, and our blessings. In Psalm 136, the psalmist is remembering God’s mighty acts in Israel’s history. He praises God for who God is and what God has done for his people. So often, the majority of our prayers are focused on our problems, our burdens, our struggles, our stresses, our sufferings, and our pain. There is nothing wrong with that, but sometimes we are so focused on our problems that we end up driving our hurts deeper into our souls. When we focus on God’s goodness and blessings, we get a whole new perspective. We discover that we have far more blessings than we have burdens. We don’t ignore our hurts, and we do ask for God’s help. But prayers of thanksgiving focus on God’s goodness and blessings. They have a way of helping us to stay grounded and encouraged and strengthened. Tell God what you are thankful for today. –Dr. Tim Thompson
PSALM 136